Card-index.



Patented m 4, I899. E. J. BEIN.

CARD INDEX. (Application filed Feb. 28, 1598.)

r 2 Sheets$heet (No Model.)

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.h 1313 JJ ATTO NE Y WITNESSES w Np. 627,967. Patented July"4,i899.

E. J; BEIN.

CARD INDEX.

(Application filed Feb. 28, 1898.)

(No Model.)

2 Sheets-finger 2 UNITED STATES PATENT -EEIc EMIL JULIUS BEIN, OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY, AS SIGNOR TO THE TUCKER FILE COMPANY, OF NEW JERSEY.

CARD-INDEX.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 627,967, dated July 4, 1899.

Application filed February 28, 1898. Serial No. 671,876. (No model.) A

To aZZ whom it may concern: a perforated track or guide plate and block Beit known that LEMIL JULIUS BEIN,a citiprovided with pins for entering the same,

zen of the United States, residing at Newark, which allows of the clampingof the block at in the county of Essex and State of New J ercertain intervalsonly.

sey, have invented certain newand useful Im- The construction of my sliding block, and

proveinents in Card-Indexes; andldo hereby the holding means connected therewith is declare the following to be a full, clear, and such that the block is automatically clamped exact description of the invention, such as or held in any position-on the guide or track will enable others skilled in the art to which plate in which it might have been moved by 0 it appertains to make and use the same, refthe operator. g 6o erence being had to the accompanying draw- The invention therefore consists in the ings, and to letters of reference marked therenovel construction of card-index hereinafter on, which form a part of this specification. set forth and also in such novel arrangements This invention has reference to improveand combinations of the operativeelements,

15 ments in that class of cabinets and drawers such as will be more fully described in the for card-indexes such as are used in libraries, accompanying specification and finally emoffices, public buildings, &c.; and my invenbodied in the clauses of the claim. .7 tion has for its several objects toprovide The invention is clearly illustrated in the an improved means for slidably arranging a. accompanying drawings, in which- 2o card-index holding or supporting block in Figure 1 isa perspective View of a card-inplace on a track in the drawer which will dex embodying the principles of my present permit of the block being readily moved back invention. Fig. 2 is a top or plan view of one and forth on its track or guide within the of the boxes or drawers provided with my limit of the length of the drawer or box and novel form of card-index holder, and Fig. 3

2 5 also to provide a spring-actuated sliding or isa longitudinal vertical section of the same. adjustably arranged block which when it Fig. 4 is a cross-sectionof the drawer or box, binds too firmly against the guide or track taken on line gain Fig. .3, when looking in the plate in the box or drawer on account of a direction of arrow :20. Fig. dis aperspective tight fit can be released from such extreme view of a rod on which the sliding block and o binding arrangement by a slight pressure index-cards are to be arranged, said View upon the top of the block to enable it to be illustrating in connection therewith an esadjusted by sliding it on a rod in the said cutcheon lock-plate, washer, and spring embox or drawer. ployed with said rod in my novel construc- A further object of this invention is to protion of card-index. Fig. 6 isa perspective 3 5 videa card-index holding or supporting block view of the sliding block and its holding or slidably arranged on a guide in the box or locking means. Fig. 7 is a detail sectional drawer, the block being of such construction View of a portion of a drawer or box and rod that there will be no forward tilting of the illustrated in said Fig. 5, said rod being prosliding block on its guide or track, as in the vided with a nut for locking or holding it in 4o constructions now in use, to prevent the placplace in the back of the drawer or box. ing of the fingers against and in operative Similarletters of reference are employed in engagement with the block when tight against all of the above-described views to indicate the cards. corresponding parts.

A further object of this invention is to pro- In said drawings, A indicates a suitable box 45 Vide a novel construction of card-index the or drawer such as is used in the form ofcabi- 5 mechanism of which shall be effective and not A represented in Fig. 1; but of course my simple in its construction and to avoid the invention may be used in connection with any awkwardness in manipulating the parts of other suitable construction of drawer or box.

the device and of having to release a positive The drawer A comprises abas e a, front a,

- w 50 clutch, as heretofore; also, to avoid the use of back a and sides a and the front may be provided with a name-plate, as a, for an index-card.

Secured to the inner face of the front a of the drawer or box is an upright board b,which has the upwardly-inclining side I) and is provided with a hole or perforation b as will be clearly evident from Figs. 2 and 3.

The base CL of the drawer or box is provided with a pair of longitudinal grooves a forming a centrally-raised part or ridge a, extending longitudinally from one end of the drawer or box to the other end thereof. Above said part or ridge a I have, secured, by means of screws 0 or in any other suitable manner, a.

of a smaller diam eter than the inner diameterof the hub portion d, and (Z indicates a pairof oppositely-arranged slots or cut-away parts which practically extend to the. inner cylindrical surface of the hub 61. The arrangement and size of the opening at are such that a pair of flanges d will be formed contiguous to said slots, as will be clearly seen from Fig. 5. Through this hole or opening d in the plated and the hole b in the board I) is pushed the rear end 6 of a rod 6, said end 6 being loosely fitted and supported in a metal collar or sleeve gin the back a of the box ordrawer. Said rod elias a knob e and a flange e and an enlargement e which is of a slightly smaller diameter than the diameter of the hole or opening (1 in the plate d, and has a pair ofoppositely-extending lugs e, which can be passed through the slots d in said plate (I and by a quarter-turn can be brought directly behind the flanges d*, as will be clearly understood. Encircling said rod e, directly behind the enlargement e and lugs 6 is a washer c and on said rod, between said washer and the board I), is a coiled spring e which is compressed by the action of said enlargement c against the washer a when the rod 6 and said enlargement e are. forced through the escutcheon-plate d, and when the rod has been turned and the operator removes his or her hand from the knob 6 then said spring acts to force the lugs 6 against the backs of the flanges d and said rod 6 is operatively held in place, and the drawer or box may then be pulled out of or pushed into its cabinet by the knob 6 as will be evident.

The follower or block f, which is preferably of the shape indicated in Figs. 3 and 6, has an upwardly and backwardly incliningwfront f and a grooved part f for the reception of the fingers when it is desired to operate the said block. Said block f has a hole f ,whereby it is slidably arranged on said rod 6. The

said follower or block f is also movably arranged abovethe base a of the box or drawer and upon the guide or track plate 0 by means of a clamping-plate h, which is secured to the bottom of the follower or block f by means of screws 7:? passed through holes in the holding-lugs 7t of said plate; but said plate may which and the face of the base ofthe block f is held a spring-plate hi having the springtongues 71 projecting through the openings 70 in the plate It. When the several parts of the block f and its clamping-plate 7b have been arranged on the rod 6 and the track-plate 0, respectively, it will be evident that the tongues 71 will bear upon the upper surface of the track-plate c and willforce the inwardly-bent portions of the logs or claws 7L3 against the under surfaces of the longitudinal edges of the track-plate c projecting above the grooves in the base a, and thus will oper'atively hold the block in its upright but slidable position on any part of the track-plate c and the rod 6.

The arrangement of the index-cards i, which are of the usual construction and are strung upon the rod e, is clearly indicated in dotted outline in Fig. 3, the cards being held vertically and a sufficient space being provided between the last card and the upwardly-in clining surface of the block f to permit placing the thumb and finger upon the block when tight against the cards and when it is desired to move said blockfback upon the rod e and the track-plate c.

By the arrangement of the detachable rod and the escutcheon lock-plate d the rod 6 can be quickly and easily removed for the placing of an index card or cards upon the rod or for the removal of such card or cards from the rod. hen it is desired to place the cards on the rod, theyare simply placed in position in the drawer or box in front of block f,whic'h is moved up against the last card; the rod is passed through the escutcheon plate and slipped through the cards, the blockf, and

into the sleeve 9, and then by a quarter-turn of the rod the parts will all be again in their proper positions in the drawer or box A.

As an extra precaution in order to prevent an y accidental displacement of the rod 6 while pulling out the drawer or box Afrom the cabinet A, the end 6 of the rod a may be provided with a screw-thread, and a suitable thumb-screw or other nut a may be screwed thereon to hold said rod in place, as clearly indicated in Fig. 7.

In order that the fingers may be placed against the back of the block f when it has been pushed back against the back a of the boX or drawer, I have provided said back with an opening a7, into which space the fingers are readily inserted to permit the pushing forward of the block f 011 the track 0, as will be clearly evident.

From the above description it will be seen that I have devised acheap and simply-constructed card-indexing device in which there is no tilting forward of the sliding or adjusting block, as in previous constructions, to prevent the placing of the thumb and fingers upon the block when it is desired to slide the same back on the track-plate, and the awkwardness of having to release a positive clutch, which takes up additional space, is entirely avoided. Owing to the-arrangement of the spring-plate on the under surface of the block, the latter can be properly arranged in any desired place upon the track-plate and can be passed back and forth on said plate by a mere pressure of the hand upon the top I of theblock.

I am aware that changes may be made in the several arrangements and combinations of the parts, as well as in the details of construction thereof, without departing from the scope of my invention. Hence I do not limit myself to the exact arrangements and combinations ofthe several parts and the construction thereof as described in the accompanying specification and embodied in the claims.-

Having thus'described my invention,what I claim is 1. In a card-index, the combination, with a drawer or box, of a track-plate in said box or drawer, a block slidably arranged on said track-plate, a clamping-plate secured to the bottom of said block having clamping-lugs in holding engagement with the under side of said track-plate, and a spring on said clamping-plate in frictional sliding engagement with the upper side of said track-plate, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

2. In a card-index, the combination, with a drawer or box, of a track-plate in said box or drawer, a block slidably arranged on said track-plate, and a clamping-plate h attached to the bottom of said block, holding lugs or claws on said plate h in operative engagement with said track-plate, and a spring-plate secured to said plate h having spring-tongues in frictional sliding engagement with said track-plate, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

3. In a card-index, the combination, with a drawer or box, of a track-plate in said box or drawer, a block slidably arranged on said track-plate, a spring-actuated clam ping-plate secured to the bottom of said block andin frictional holding engagement with said trackplate, and a guide-rod removably arranged in said drawer and passing through a hole in said block, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

4. In a card-index, the combination, with a drawer or box, of a track-plate in said box or drawer, a block slidably arranged on said track-plate,a spring-actuated clamping-plate secured to the bottom of saidblock,and in frictional holding engagement with said trackplate, a collar g in the back of said drawer or box, an escutcheon-plate 'd in the front of said drawer or box, having a tubular hub d and said plate 01 having an opening 01 and slots (1 and a flange d, a spring-actuated guide-rod removably arranged in said collar g and said escutcheon-plate, and lugs on said guide-rod adapted to be turned in holding engagement with said flange d and said rod passing through a hole in said block, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

5. In a card-index, the combination, with a drawer or box, of a track-plate in said box or drawer, a block slidably arranged on said track-plate,a clam ping-plate 71 attached to the bottom of said block, holding lugs or claws on said plate. h in operative engagement with said track-plate, a spring-plate secured to said plate It having spring-tongues infrictional sliding engagement with said track-plate, and a guide rod removably arranged in said drawer or box and passing through a hole in said block, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

6. In a card-index, the combination, with a drawer. or box, of a track-plate in said box or drawer, a block slidably arranged on said track-plate, a clampin g-pl'ate h attached to the bottom of said block, holding lugs or claws on said plate hin operative engagement with said track-plate, a springplate secu red to said plate h having spring-tongues in frictional sliding engagement with said track-plate, a collar g in the back of said drawer or box, an escutcheon-plate d in the front of said drawer,

having a tubular hub d and said plate at having an opening d slots 01 and a flange (1 a spring-actuated guide-rod removably arranged in said collar g and said escutcheonplate, and lugs on said guide-rod adapted to be turned in holding engagement with said flange C1 and said rod passing through a hole in said block, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

In testimony that I claim the invention 'set forth' above Ihave hereunto set myhand this 21st day of February, 1898.

EMIL JULIUS BEIN.

Witnesses:

FREDK. C. FRAENTZEL, W. H. TUCKER. 

